


Neverending

by equandt



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Beach Day, F/M, Fluff, John gets to check out those sweet breakers..., Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-20
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-27 14:22:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30124155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/equandt/pseuds/equandt
Summary: A well-deserved day at the beach.
Relationships: John Sheppard/Elizabeth Weir
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Neverending

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate title: _Endless Summer_.
> 
> I swear I write (and actually prefer) angst too! This one was in my head for a long time though, when I was feeling rather sad about what happened on Asuras and I just wanted them to have pleasant time together. It ended up finally being finished as I was having trouble with writer's block and decided to focus on something easy to try and get through it. This is meant to take place shortly before the events of First Strike/Adrift/Lifeline though, so hopefully you'll now read it with some sense of sadness 😉
> 
> Don't worry, in my personal canon they end up together like this in the end...
> 
> Disclaimer: seeing as the closest I've ever come to surfing is floating around on a paddleboard (😂) I unfortunately had to rely purely on videos for that scene. Apologies if anything seems incorrect. The only bad thing about watching a bunch of surfing videos is now I'm dying to try it even more...

*

Elizabeth stepped out of the Jumper, slipping one flip-flop off to sink her toes into the sun-kissed sand, eyes closing at the sensation. Why bother with the sandals at all — she removed the second one, then bent to pick them up, flinging them back into the ship and just missing John who was approaching behind her.

“The hell—?”

She couldn’t help her soft laughter. “Sorry,” she replied with just a hint of guilt.

“Sure you are.” He was grinning back as he gave her a playful shove which she returned, before taking his arm and resting her head against his shoulder affectionately.

“This was the best idea,” she mused, staring out at the seemingly endless expanse of water. “Couldn’t be more perfect…”

“Well, it’s no Waimea. And no tiki bar…but at least we’ve got beer.”

“And Athosian wine,” she added. "…which together definitely cost us less than any touristy drink. And you’re here with me," she continued, quirking an eyebrow as she regarded him with soft eyes. “So it couldn’t be more perfect.”

“Don’t get all sentimental on me now,” he replied, looking almost unnerved and her grin just widened as she reached up and kissed him.

She let him go and made her way towards the water while he stood there, transfixed by the sight of her. The oversized shirt she wore — one of his she’d stolen — billowed around her; the wind teased through her hair and it glowed reddish as it caught the sun. She seemed to visibly relax as she stepped into the cool water, and a tightness rose in his throat that he couldn’t quite explain — just the sight of her so carefree, something he didn’t get to witness nearly as often as he’d like. He felt a coolness in his eyes against the wind and he lifted a hand, wiping away the sheen of tears that had formed.

Elizabeth turned to face him again, and seemed to know she’d caught him in a moment — she didn’t speak, simply watching him with a soft smile. Then she began to slide the shirt from her shoulders, shouting back, “You coming in?”

John broke from his reverie, approaching quickly and removing his t-shirt as he did so, dropping it where she had tossed his other shirt into the sand.

“Ahhh, that’s good.” Cool water, but not _too_ cool. He turned to half face her, unable to keep his eyes from lingering over the thin bikini straps, the generous amount of skin on display — he knew she caught him and she smirked, that eyebrow raising again suggestively as she turned away, taunting him. He smirked back, letting his gaze linger on her ass instead. He knew that she knew he was watching, as she slowly bent over, testing the water before grabbing a handful and —

“Hey!” he yelled as she whipped around, throwing a mini tsunami that caught him in the chest and face. He shoved the water back, spraying it up to her neck. Elizabeth growled in mock dismay then ran closer, shoving a terrific amount of water that caught him full in the face; blinking water from his eyes he found that she had darted farther away, facing him with a taunting grin.

“Oh you’re gonna get it now,” he growled, making his way forward but just before he was able to send another wave her way she dove below the surface, reappearing a few seconds later to shout, “Joke’s on you!” and send another large wave towards his back.

“Oh, you think so!?” he yelled, grinning as he dove in, swimming after her. She had gotten quite far out already, but he was still faster, quickly closing the distance. However by the time he’d caught up they were too deep — he could only push a small amount of water in her direction. She was grinning triumphantly.

“Okay, you win,” he panted, casting about for a downside. “But _now_ we’ve got to swim all the way back…” 

“You didn’t _have_ to follow.” She smirked then moved around him, sliding her arms around his chest from behind. “Besides, I’ll just get a ride back…”

“Oh _hell_ no,” he replied indignantly, twisting away and attempting to splash her again; she laughed as the water stopped short of her, then dove under again, emerging several feet away. 

“Race ya!” she shouted and he growled, chasing after her. He couldn’t remember the last time his heart had been this light; though she held her ground for several minutes he soon closed the gap again and they emerged together on shore, both breathless. She lay down on the sand, facing the sky and closing her eyes against the sun. The burning of her muscles soon gave way to a pleasant warm, tingling sensation, and she lay back in complete contentment. 

“Hey. You can’t go to sleep now,” came John’s voice from above her and she fought the grin from breaking across her face again. “You’re learning to surf, remember?”

“This is _good_ though,’ she murmured, moving her shoulders a bit as though settling into a comfortable position. She cracked one eye open. “Hey, you wanna grab some of that wine? That’ll be even better…”

“Ah come _onnn_ ,” he protested, sitting down next to her. “That can wait…”

She lifted her head slightly, fixing him with an expression of mock dismay. “You’d deprive me of a rare moment where I can actually get to sleep…?”

“Ya know, you really can’t complain about not getting sleep when most nights you wanna —“ He stopped short as her eyes narrowed at him, returning her gaze with one of mock contrition.

“Go on,” she pressed him sitting up slightly, one eyebrow arching dangerously. He was silent for a long moment before shoving himself forward, pressing her back down into the sand as he captured her lips in a deep kiss, one hand caressing her body. They broke apart as she started laughing, then she threaded her fingers through his hair and kissed him again, holding him close till they broke apart, both breathless. She let out a small sound of protest when he stood, smirking slightly, then offered a hand to pull her up.

“C’mon, I’ll go get the board.” She was still smiling widely as she took his hand and stood, before reaching behind her to brush the sand from her back.

John emerged from the Jumper with the surfboard under his arm, walking up to the water’s edge and laying it down. He dug grooves in the sand for the fins before resting the board in place and turning to her.

“All right, first thing you’re gonna have to know is how to pop up. Like this.” He lay prone against the board, turning his feet in so only his toes connected, heels facing skyward. Keeping his elbows up and hands flat, he pushed his upper back up, arching slightly as he straightened his arms out, rising onto his fingertips. Bringing his left leg forward with the knee behind his now straightened elbow he pushed up to stand in one fluid motion while his right foot twisted outwards. 

“See? Nothing to it.” He stepped off and she eagerly lay down, carefully aligning herself with the stringer while she tried to visualize the motions he’d gone through. He knelt down, gently pressing her shoulder to guide her back.

“Move back a bit farther. Like, slide yourself away from the nose…yeah that’s good. Everything else looks good…okay, try pushing up.”

She arched herself back then brought her left foot forward just a bit clumsily, pushing up and quickly remembering to twist the right foot outwards.

“Like this?” She faced him while keeping her feet in the same position.

“Close — try a couple more times and I’ll help you get the footing down.”

Elizabeth lay down again, repeating the motions while he made small corrections; she felt determined to get it right quickly and by the third attempt had gotten everything down quite smoothly. John looked pleased, clearly happy to be teaching her and by the fact she was taking to it naturally.

“You’ve got it down pretty good already. Just a few more times to really get comfortable…”

“Did you expect any less of me?” she asked, grinning and quirking an eyebrow before laying down again. She went through the motions three more times, John watching and making small corrections when needed.

“Left foot more forward…that’s better. Okay, try again…”

“How long are you gonna make me do this?” she pretended to complain after two more attempts, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Not long, you’ve almost got it,” he answered nonchalantly. “This part is important, you can’t really surf well if your technique is off…”

“I think you just like the view,” she teased, lifting her butt slightly and he laughed softly, rolling his eyes. She pushed up to standing position and he guided her gently to the correct stance.

“Left foot more forward…that’s it. Okay, once more, then I think you’re ready enough. Twice,” he amended quickly and smirked as she pretended to scowl before laying down again.

“Good?” she asked, throwing up her hands in an exaggerated shrug.

“Hm, I don’t know, I think I wanna see one more just to be sure…”

“Oh shut up,” she laughed, shoving against his chest playfully. “C’mon, show me how to paddle.”

“You’re really impatient, you know that?”

“Hey, I just wanna actually surf before the day ends,” she replied defensively. “Otherwise I’ll just go grab some of that wine…”

“Oh no you don’t,” he growled in mock exasperation as she turned as though to head back to the Jumper — he took her arm and guided her back to the water. She was grinning mischievously, clearly having fun at his expense. “C’mon,” he added, smirking back as he picked up the board and headed deeper into the water; she moved alongside him till they stood nearly chest deep.

“All right, watch and learn.” He pressed the board beneath him, sitting against it then leaning forward to slide himself into laying position, naturally balanced. “It’ll take some getting used to…”

“I’ve been on paddleboards before,” she offered, shrugging slightly.

“Not _quite_ the same,” he responded, grinning. “This’ll be a bit trickier. Okay, now watch.” He paddled out a few feet then turned to meet her again. “All right, just push it beneath you and get into a sitting position…that’s it, now slide on forward, try to find the balance.”

“You make it look so easy,” Elizabeth replied, slightly surprised by how off balance she felt. Determined as always however, she focused hard on keeping herself level till she felt mostly comfortable. 

“Years of practice…hey, you’re doing really well for your first time out. Keep your head up, eyes forward…really important, you don’t wanna strain your neck…”

John guided her through proper paddling technique then let her go, observing then correcting once she returned. She was tentative, still getting used to the board beneath her.

“It’ll take some time to get used to. Just keep at it…” Elizabeth couldn’t help noticing his eyes shift to the waves farther out, and though she genuinely wanted to learn, she also knew he was itching to get out there.

She slipped off the board, lifting it and offering it to him. He turned to her with a look of mild surprise, and she smiled gently, holding it farther out.

“I see you looking out there. Go get ‘em.”

“Don’t you wanna keep practicing?”

“I do.” She faced him, her eyes sincere. “Truly, I do — but I also want you to get to surf before it gets dark. How long has it been since you’ve had time to do this?”

“You sure?” he asked, taking the board from her slowly and she nodded.

“Show me how it’s done. And hey, this just means we’ll _have_ to come back so I can practice.”

“Deal — I’m holding you to it,” he replied, eyes soft as he watched her — she looked so beautiful, the green of her eyes bright, her hair tousled by the breeze.

He set out, swimming effortlessly away while she stood for a long moment, watching him grow more distant. She swam out a bit farther, getting a better view as he rode his first waves before she tired of treading water and decided to head to shore. She let herself float on her back, calm as she watched the clouds drift within the sky. 

*

Elizabeth sat on the beach, a small smile on her face as she watched John far out on the waves, in the deepening sunlight. The light was growing richer, taking on the golden hue of early evening. The breeze was cool off the water, teasing through her hair and she brought the wine glass to her mouth, wishing this day would never end, realizing she wanted nothing more than to stay here on this beach, with the man now approaching her from the waves. She felt her heart quicken with a surge of love for him; pushing the glass into the sand she stood to meet him in the water. The delicious coolness soaked into her feet, the water flowing around her ankles. Seeing her waiting John rushed up to stand before her, board under his right arm and eyes alight.

“Damn I missed this,” he ground out, casting a glance over the breakers again. Her eyes were sparkling as she came nearer, pulling him into her arms; he carefuly dropped the surfboard and shoved it up onto the sand as he returned her embrace.

“You looked good out there,” she murmured against his neck, bringing one hand forward to play lightly against his chest. “I love you so much,” she whispered, laying a butterfly kiss against his collarbone before resting her head there. His skin was cool from the water but she felt the heat surging beneath, felt the golden sunlight against his back

“I love you too,” he whispered in her ear, hands moving in slow circles against her back. He kissed the side of her head, holding her there for a long moment before lowering his head to meet her lips; he could taste the sweet tang of wine mixed with ocean salt and closed his eyes, relishing the moment.

“Mm, you taste sweet,” he whispered against her lips before capturing them again, taking it slow and lingering for a long while. One hand slid slowly along her torso, coming to rest against her hip while his fingers slipped ever so slightly below her waistband, tracing along it. She shivered slightly, breaking the kiss with a small gasp as his hand slid lower.

“Well, take me up to that beach and you can have your fill,” she murmured low in his ear, catching his earlobe gently in her teeth before hoisting herself up to wrap her legs around his hips, pressing herself firmly against him. 

She felt him begin to harden against her as she kissed slowly along his neck, dragging her teeth and biting with each release. His hand fell to the side of her face, lifting her head again so he could crush his lips to hers, fingers gripping her hair while he slid the other hand beneath her to lift her higher against him. He groaned softly as she shifted against his cock, his hands gripping her more tightly as he carried her up to the beach. Reaching the blanket she’d laid out he sank down, laying her beneath him while he kissed her slowly, taking his time before pulling away with a gentle bite to her lower lip. She let her eyes flutter shut, starting to release her breath in small gasps as she felt him kissing below her jaw, her head arching back to expose her neck further. He slowly kissed his way down her neck, while his hands slid behind her back, fingers working deftly to undo the knot in her bikini top; she lifted herself slightly so he could remove it, then sank down again, feeling warm and soft as the sand as she relished his languid kisses.

His fingers hooked into her waistband, sliding the bottoms down her legs; she impatiently kicked them off while a soft moan emanated from her throat as his fingers trailed her inner thigh, then slid higher to roll along her clit, still keeping that languid pace. She thrust impatiently against his fingers, craving more pressure, her gasps deepening as she rocked into him and she felt his mouth against her breast, tongue circling slowly, roughly.

She thrust hard against him again and growled in frustration as he kept the same pressure, teasing her; she could just picture his faint smirk and thrust harder, demanding more, He didn’t give in right away, keeping it slow, his mouth lingering below her breast before he pulled away for a moment, watching her face as he slipped three fingers inside her.

 _“Fuck yes!”_ She arched back, rocking against him again, nails biting into his upper back. Grinning slightly with satisfaction he dropped down to continue his descent of biting kisses, lingering at her navel before veering off slightly to drag his teeth along the hollow of her hip, twisting his fingers inside her and meeting her thrust for thrust. Finally reaching her center he lay butterfly kisses along the inside of her thigh, remaining there for a long moment before shifting himself over, slowly slipping his fingers out. He smirked at her frustrated growl, which quickly turned to a deep moan as he lowered his head and slowly ran his tongue along her clit before slipping inside, savoring the taste of her.

She ground her head back into the sand, chest heaving with gasping breaths, her legs shifting up to clasp around him while her fingers gripped his hair, pressing him closer. She closed her eyes against the fiery sky above, moaning deeply as she let herself fall into ecstasy. 

*

“I like the idea of a beach wedding,” Elizabeth mused dreamily. She had slipped her engagement ring on now that they were out of the water and was turning it slowly, watching the ruby glint in the firelight.

They’d gathered enough driftwood to start a small fire which crackled softly in the gathering dark, sending sparks skyward as though to meet with the glittering stars. They lay back, John resting his head against the surfboard and Elizabeth against his chest as he held her loosely.

“Same,” he agreed, also transfixed by the ring on her finger. “It’s perfect for us, you know? Seeing as we got together in a city once lost to the ocean…”

“Exactly,” she responded, smiling gently. “It’s just too bad that we’ll have to keep it so private…”

“Hm, I kinda like that actually. Just our closest friends...and we’ll be able to get rid of ‘em quicker and have more time for _us_.” She caught his eye, chuckling softly before laying a light kiss against his collarbone. She shifted closer against him, seeking more warmth — she’d pulled his shirt around her again but there was a chill in the breeze that had picked up from the water.

“Good point. I guess I just…” She sighed slightly. “…I wish it wouldn’t have to stay secret, you know? I want the world to know I’m with you. In time, I hope…”

“It’ll happen,” he replied determinedly, turning his head to meet her eyes before kissing her deeply, holding it for as long as he could. They held each other’s gaze for a long moment after separating, then she shifted slightly upwards so she could lay her forehead against his, sighing again as her eyes closed.

“I’d give anything for another day like this.”

He thought he felt her tense slightly and watched her face, seeing her brow beginning to furrow. The firelight danced along her hair and he brought up a hand to stroke it.

“Shhh,” he whispered pulling her closer. “We’re here now, just let go…”

“What?” she asked quietly, though she knew he’d sensed her thoughts…that uncanny ability he’d always had. His fingers still combed gently through her hair.

“I know you,” he replied with a faint grin. "I know you’re starting to worry again about things back on base. You give so much of yourself over to Atlantis, just — let go for the moment. Listen to the ocean…”

“I could say the same about you,” she said quietly, and though he couldn’t see her face fully, he knew the exact knowing expression it held. “And I will, so long as you do the same.”

“I promise.” He grinned, lifting an eyebrow, then watched her for a moment before landing on another subject. “Hey, we can talk about your paddling technique, how to improve for next time…”

“I take it you weren’t impressed?”

“I didn’t say that. But there’s always room for improvement —“ She started grinning widely, quirking an eyebrow.

“Well, I’m shocked I was anything less than perfect.”

He laughed softly. leaning in and giving her a lingering kiss. “I love you. Trust me, we’ll have you surfing in no time — it’s kind of a requirement if you’re going to spend your life with me…”

“Well I suppose I’ve been warned.” She was smiling widely as she kissed him in turn. “I love you too. More than anything,” she whispered.

She lay back against him, casting an eye to the expanse above and wondering vaguely how many of the steadily shining lights she and her teams had set foot on. How many remained to be explored… She let her eyes close, lulled into half wakefulness by the sound of the fire and waves, the feeling of his hand caressing her hair.

They lay there long after dark, eventually standing to leave as the fire died down to embers that would burn throughout the long night.

_End_

*


End file.
